Twitter Drama: Twitterserye – Where a Soap “Teleserye” Meets Social Media
Twitterserye: A new kind of trend on twitter?
When in Manila and you’re tuned into your twitter, you’d notice for the past few days that there’s been a certain hashtag making its rounds: #twitterserye. Apparently, this hashtag (along with similar hashtags) was a promotional material for an upcoming theater production known as Kapeng Barako Club: Samahan ng mga Bitter.
But what IS a twitterserye? If you ask this writer: a ‘twitterserye’ involves characters having their own twitter account, interacting with each other and being followed by real twitter users. Then again, the twitterserye may be the next big thing on twitter. This innovative style of media promotion garnered the attention of a couple of media outlets, and now that list includes Wheninmanila.com.
Just a sample of what the KBC twitterserye is all about
As luck would put it, I got in touch with the man himself to talk about this whole twitterserye craze: Mr. Juan Ekis (a.k.a Christian Vallez). Below is the interview we had from the multi-time Palanca Winning author:
What has been your reaction on the whole media feedback of your KBC: Samahan ng mga Bitter twitterserye?
I’m quite surprised. I mean the whole twitterserye concept was just an experiment and all so I never thought it would be this big. I’m very happy with the outcome since the people who consume or delve in social media, especially twitter, got wind of this and I’m glad I got something to offer to those said people. I guess it goes to show that everyone is hungry and thirsty for stories and we just need to look for different avenues, the twitterserye being one.
When did this idea of a twitterserye come about?
The idea has been there for a couple of years already. I really wanted to produce a twitterserye, but I only figured out to use one of my writing material which was the ‘Kapeng Barako Club’ script. The idea materialized a few weeks ago, and the rest was history. The three episodes of this ‘twitterserye’ is actually a ‘prequel’/preview to the play itself which would be ‘Episode 4’. So if you wanna know what happens in episode 4, please do watch my play. It’ll be staged from July 22 to 26th at UA&P.
Will there be an episode 5 after the play?
As we mentioned on twitter, yes, there will be an episode five. The fifth episode of the twitterserye will be back online after the play’s first staging.
Do you think that the whole ‘twitterserye’ concept become the next big thing on twitter?
I honestly don’t know. I am hoping it will. I don’t write it for it to be the next big thing. I’m just telling stories.
Do you have any message to the people who are interested to watch the play after checking out the twitterserye in social media?
The main message in my twitterserye is that people hide behind social media. As seen in the first three episodes, they mask their real feelings, intentions through social media. My message is quite simple: You don’t have to hide your feelings in social media. If you ask me, go live your life outside and realize what you want.
So When in Manila and you’re intrigued to know more about this twitterserye, check it out on twitter with the hashtags #twitterserye and #KBCTwitterSerye. If you ask me, this whole twitterserye might be the next big thing on twitter, if a few more people would follow suit and join what Mr. Juan Ekis and crew did for their production.
I’d like to give thanks to Juan Ekis for giving us an exclusive interview behind this recent social media phenomenon. Also, don’t forget that episode 4 of this twitterserye is actually a staging of one of his plays: Kapeng Barako Club: Samahan ng Mga Bitter.
Poster Credit: Kapeng Barako Club: Samahan ng mga Bitter FB Page
Twitterserye: KBC: Samahan ng Mga Bitter
Twitter series: https://twitter.com/juanekis/samahan-ng-mga-bitter
Twitter Drama: Twitterserye – Where a Soap “Teleserye” Meets Social Media
